Future Endeavors 8/24 Power Poll: ...BAAAAAHT Chu Already Knew That

TAKE THAT CAPITALIST AMERICAN PIG
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Bro-nan the Bar-bro-nian (credit Vince Mancini of Film Drunk), PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Alberto Del Rio (Last Week: 1)
2. Mark Henry (NR)
3. Randy Orton (3)
4. CM Punk (2)
5. John Cena (4)
6. The Ghan-Am Connection (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) (credit: Brandon Stroud) (NR)
7. John Morrison (NR)
8. Daniel Bryan (8)
9. Kevin Nash (9)
10. The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. Alberto del Rio - He makes the cross armbreaker look suave.

2. El Generico - Your 2011 Battle of Los Angeles winner. No word yet on whether he'll be entering any other events named after Rage against the Machine albums this year or not.

3. Mark Henry - He threw an Uso onto Booker T. OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO BE HERE.

4. CM Punk - Mostly for how stylishly he wore del Rio's scarf after the match.

5. John Cena - I would have docked him for openly exposing del Rio as a gimmick, but he won me over in the main event. Also, because I don't vote on this thing like I'm Bryan Alvarez with a log wedged up my ass about shit like that.

6. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan ranking.

7. Evan Bourne - America > Ghana, that's why

8. Kofi Kingston - But I guess Ghana's snazzy too.

9. Shawn Vexx - He beat Jerry Lynn in Texas this past weekend, and I quite enjoy it when young men beat the crap out of our senior citizens.

10. Arik Cannon - Defeated Steve Corino at the AAW main event this weekend. However, I'm not sure if he avoided the Thumb in the Bum, so I can't rank him any higher than 10th.

Instant Feedback: EAT SHIT LOGAN

So, did anyone else catch the not-so-PG sign in the crowd during the Alberto del Rio/John Morrison match? It made me giggle.

Anyway, yeah, the main event stuff tonight was hit or miss for me. Punk seemed off on his promo game tonight, but at the same time, you can't expect a guy to spit each week at the highest level. That being said, Punk at B+ is better than a lot of guys at their A+++ material, so it's okay. Here's what I liked about the main event angle. I loved the Cena/Punk match, up to the finish. I liked that Nash pulled a slick outsmarting move to get Triple H out of the building. What I didn't like? I didn't like the segment in the middle where Nash and Trips confronted each other. I didn't like the finish of the main event. It's not that Cena won at all. I think it's par for the course. Neither guy can seem to put the other away without help. I think it sets the stage for the ultimate showdown, maybe at Hell in the Cell. What I didn't like was the tired "distract the loser" finish with Nash distracting Punk. I feel like they do this too much. I'm in the middle on the opening segment. So yeah, there's that.

I also almost (and probably should have) fast forwarded through the Divas match completely (I started late because I was putting together a crib... FUN!). Also, Morrison has the worst strikes ever, really. He fooled me against Sheamus last year, but mostly because all he was doing were punches. Break anything else out and he sucks. Those lariats... good God, Stan Hansen in 2080 is rolling over in his grave every time Morrison breaks one of those out. And the Jack Swagger/Alex Riley match was subpar.

That being said, a lot of what went down tonight was fucking awesome. The Tag Pennies match was pretty good. Yes, I'm pretty high on the Nexus as a tag team, although I'm psyched that Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston have them the belts. Aside from the actual match, I'm excited about the prospect of either an alliance between Swagger and Dolph Ziggler or, where I want it to go, a feud where we'll get fucking awesome matches with a lot of amateur influence and great counters and I have to stop writing about it because I'll start fantasy booking and I don't want to do that right now because I'm tired.

The Miz/R-Truth dual promo was so, so, SO FUCKING AWESOME that I couldn't stop smiling. Both men proved they could hang with Punk in the blurring of the edge, and both guys just delivered. They're a perfect duo, with Truth bringing the absurdity and Miz being the intense straight man. Man, I want to see more of these guys.

So yeah, there were a few really big spots on RAW tonight, but it was an overall uneven episode. That being said, the main event narrative can't be awesome every week, but overall, I'm still on board.

Future Endeavors 7/22 Power Poll: NERDS

Yep.
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Red Oct-bro-ber, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. CM Punk (Last week: 1)
2. Daniel Bryan (NR)
3. Alberto Del Rio (7)
4. Christian (9)
5. Mark Henry (5)
6. John Cena (2)
7. Rey Mysterio (NR)
8. The Miz (NR)
9. Sheamus (8)
10. Kofi Kingston (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. CM Punk
2. Daniel Bryan
3. Alberto del Rio
4. Christian - I'm pretty sure if I have to explain any four of these votes to you, you're probably legally braindead.

5. Mark Henry - For the splitting of wigs that occurred at Money in the Bank.

6. John Cena - Honestly, I don't feel I need to explain this vote either, but there will probably still be those who say "JOHN CENA? YUCK" There's no convincing those people, so my rebuttal to them is NEENER NEENER NEENER IT'S MY BLOG AND MY BALLOT. I hope you find that retort to be mature and tasteful.

7. Sheamus - He powerbombed Sin Cara through that ladder so hard that it made the former Mistico fail a drug test in the past.

8. The Miz - All that was missing was him sacking the Georgia Tech quarterback and being carried off the field by his bros while Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn cheered from the stands.

9. Rey Mysterio - He lost his mask, con. But Vince McMahon remembered his name before he shooed him to the back on RAW Monday, pro!

10. Zack Ryder - This week's "Stock Daniel Bryan ranking" is now a stock Zack Ryder ranking. Deal with it.

Wrestling Oddsmakers: RAW's Money in the Bank Match

Will del Rio accessorize his cars with a briefcase?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's that time of the year again, wrestling fans! Money in the Bank is a scant two-and-a-half weeks away, and the lineup for the RAW match was announced this past Monday. Here it is, as follows:

• Alberto del Rio
• Alex Riley
• Evan Bourne
• Jack SWAGGAH~!
• Kofi Kingston
• The Miz
• R-Truth
• Rey Mysterio

That's a very interesting lineup, one that will provide some MitB experience, some fresh faces, a gallery of guys who, with the exception of Miz and maybe Mysterio, would feel fresh in the title scene and with Bourne, Kingston and Rey, guys who know how to bring fireworks to a match like this. While I have little doubt this match will deliver, I'm not sure who's going to win. There are a few good choices, but rather than just singling those guys out, why not give odds for everyone, starting with the longest shot and going down to the favorite? Here goes:

Alex Riley
Odds: 500-1

I think WWE likes A-Ry. I really do. He wouldn't be getting this full-faith push if they didn't. I like him too. I think he's got great character chops and if he gets a polish on his ring work, he'll be a good fit for the main event. However, I'll be utterly shocked if he walks away with the briefcase here. It's too soon, and I think they realize it too. Yeah, they're giving him a lot of heat in his feud with Miz, but at the same time, that kind of thing can be a red herring. I mean, look at Kofi after his feud where we all thought he was "made" against Randy Orton. Again, Riley's awesome right now, and he'll get his time in the sun. That time just isn't now.

Evan Bourne
Odds: 250-1

This match is why Bourne is on the roster and probably will remain on the roster. He'll always get prominently featured in it, thanks mostly to the urging of his friends in WWE like John Cena and Randy Orton, but once it's over, management goes back to having him bump for big guys and do his Air Bourne on Superstars. It's a shame, because much like Mysterio, Bourne is fucking exciting to watch, man. While I'll be rooting my hardest for him to win this match, I think those cries will end up being in vain.

Kofi Kingston
Odds: 75-1

If this Money in the Bank were held in December of 2009, then I'd be all-in on Kofi winning. But much like I mentioned before, he's lost his mojo and hasn't really gotten it back, unless being in a perpetual feud with Dolph Ziggler that seems to be personal hell of one Brandon Stroud counts as mojo (hint: it doesn't). Then again, what other face on the RAW side than Cena and Mysterio get the kind of pops that Kofi even still gets? Not John Morrison, he's hurt anyway. I mean, I don't see him winning, but at the same time, I thought that Swagger didn't have a chance in hell in the last WM MitB match, did I?

Jack Swagger
Odds: 40-1

Speaking of SWAGGAH BOMBU~!, this is his first MitB match since that aforementioned briefcase snagging at WrestleMania XXVI. That led to him not being in Smackdown's match last year because he was trying to regain the World Championship from Rey Mysterio. I'm hesitant to say he has a great shot because he's been jobbing to Bourne a lot lately, but then again, they seem to like to break guys down before giving them the briefcase, don't they? Plus, he still has that broken association with Michael Cole going for him, which would segue nice into an angle. He's middling at best, but I give him a better than 50-1 chance because hey, I've been burned once before.

R-Truth
Odds: 25-1

You would think that Truth would be a favorite for this match, given that he's fresh off a WWE Championship opportunity, right? Well no, I'm not sure if that's the case, given that WWE and I seem to be on a similar wavelength as to how to keep Truf fresh and interesting. Sure, Money in the Bank would be a great way to circumvent a conspiracy theory against him, but at the same time, why not have circumstance "screw" Truth here like it did at Capitol Punishment, when he done got got by Little Jimmy? At the same time though, he is a prior contender with a beef with Cena, so he's still more viable than the bottom half of the odds sheet.

Rey Mysterio
Odds: 10-1

Mysterio is always hurt, begging for vacation or if you believe the nebulous sources within WWE, is ready to either retire or take a break. So why give him these kinds of odds? Well, he's probably the most over guy in the match, face or heel, for one. Two, him winning gives them the option of realistically having a cash-in be predetermined because hey, he's an honorable face... stop snickering! Faces still act honor... okay, you win. Still, any match where he's in, he's gotta be a favorite to win.

The Miz
Odds: 5-1

It would be old hat, but in a way, it's a propos, right? Miz has the preeminent experience given his big win last year with a better field (or at least one that had Orton in it), plus WWE is known to do a repeat result. They did it with CM Punk directly, and with Edge, I'm sure they were wishing they'd have had him win two briefcases in a row in the MitB match rather than having to beat Mr. Glass Kennedy for his second one. Also, it sets up an intriguing story where Miz is the first to fail at cashing in, be it clean or through A-Ry-generated shenanigans.

Alberto del Rio
Odds: Even Money

It's his DESTINY. Well, we all thought it was his destiny after winning the Royal Rumble, but he was struck by a Smooth Criminal Rated R Superstar in what turned out to be his last match ever. Such is life. However, you don't get to win the Royal Rumble and not be high on their list, so an ADR title reign is inevitable, right? Plus, he's got Cena at SummerSlam, or at least that's the plan according to an interview he did. There are many different ways this could be set up, but I'm thinking a rematch clause after del Rio takes out Cena, who would have just taken out CM Punk, at that very show, would be the most logical one...

...baaaaht... chu already knew that. *wink*

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

This Is the Feud That Doesn't End: Kingston Vs. Ziggler Vs. Eternity

Stop me if you've seen this one before, but...
Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you had an intense feeling of déjà vu last night watching Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, well, yeah, it was justified. Over the last couple of years, the two have had televised wrestling matches against each other a mind-boggling 16 times. That's a large number of wrestling matches in that period of time. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if both guys had moved on since their first meeting. However, neither Kingston nor Ziggler really have been pushed further outside of a cup of coffee in the main event since then. If I remember correctly, their first match happened after Kingston's push to the top failed when his feud with Randy Orton ended abruptly. Ziggler himself had a brush with the main event against Edge, but he's since come down to earth.

In the interim, both guys have had other feuds. Kingston battled against Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett. Ziggler had run-ins with John Morrison and Daniel Bryan. Still, their roads always seem to intersect with each other, most probably with a secondary title on the line. How does a feud last that long anymore? I mean, we all marveled that TNA/Impact kept the Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett feud alive for 8 months, but as poorly-booked and unentertaining as I found it, at least it was at the top of the card and had several wrinkles to it. This one? Well, yeah, I like feuds over titles, but the way WWE goes about booking any feud sub-the main event can get way, way boring at times, mainly because they rarely know what they have with their Intercontinental and United States Championships.

I'm not really complaining about the lack of elevation here either. I mean, I'd love to see both guys tangle with main eventers more often, but at the same time, as long as they're wrestling or promoing, I don't mind where they are on the card. I just want to see what they can do against different opponents. I think this is more an indictment of WWE for their lack of midcard rather than speed of elevation. I mean, other than his feud with Edge, what can you say about any feud that Ziggler has had since starting his never ending series with Kingston? Well, the matches were good, especially against Bryan, but other than that, the midcard is usually treated with the same care and attention that the kid with halitosis gets at the school dance. Matches are great, but I need a story too.

If there were two or three distinct stories involved here, then I wouldn't mind the overkill between the two wrestlers. That being said, usually, the angle is one of them is a secondary Champion, and the other is getting a title shot. Only recently did either one of them actually ACCENTUATE that the title meant something to them. That's why this "feud" has seemed so boring.

If the story is interesting, two guys could wrestle a million times and not have it get boring on serialized wrestling television. The problem is that WWE rarely makes a good midcard story anymore. That's why Kofi and Dolph have been eliciting groans for their matches being announced, not excited cheers for the chemistry that they have in the ring.

Because believe me, that chemistry is pretty good.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston: Bringing the US Championship Back?

Talkin' title... I like it
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I know a lot among us were mesmerized by the fact that Zack Ryder had a match on RAW this past week, and you might have missed some other things going on. (speaking of Zack... cool montage, bro) One, Dolph Ziggler got behind the mic in the broadcast booth along with his business associate Vickie Guerrero to commentate a match that his rival, United States Champion Kofi Kingston was wrestling in. In a shocking twist, Ziggler spent most of the match letting Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole how much he wants to be United States Champion...

*record scratch*

...what? Wrestlers in 2011 WWE, focusing in on a secondary title belt? This is madness! Surely they made a mistake, or there wasn't someone in Ziggler's ear telling him to think of other ways to slander Kofi, because I thought no one cared about the secondary titles. Regardless of reasoning though, I'm glad to hear that there's a new focus on the US Championship, even if it's just been put in this week.

The best part of a vibrant, memorable midcard is when the guys have something to fight for. Would the WWF have been as indelibly marked in our minds if Mr. Perfect and Bret Hart fought over, I dunno, spilled coffee or some other inane reason? Maybe, maybe not, but I venture a guess that the fact that they had the Intercontinental Championship as a prize, or as a MacGuffin as KSP and Jason Mann call it, made it stand out. People say titles aren't important anymore, but when was the last time either the US or IC title were treated with respect for more than one feud at a time? When a title is important, it enhances the feud and can make even the most mundane, hackneyed traditional wrestling build feel important, because hey, they're fighting for something.

So that's why I was genuinely happy to hear Ziggler talk about the United States Championship in commentary like it was something to strive for, something to earn. The key is keeping that narrative going through Capitol Punishment and throughout the rest of the year.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Ryder Fans Rejoice

Visual evidence of someone other than Santino or Yoshi Tatsu selling for Ryder
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Zack Ryder was on RAW last night. Not for a second like he usually is, but he actually got to wrestle an honest-to-God match where the other guy sold for him. Really! It was the United States Champion too. It was great. Usually, Ryder's awesomeness is contained to Superstars or his virally popular web-show, but we got to see it last night as well.

Some people might have seen this as a jobbing, getting all pissy that they saw the Woo Woo Woo Kid on RAW only to serve as enhancement talent. Hello? Of course he was jobbing. Kofi's in a feud with Dolph Ziggler. Ryder never appears on RAW. The result was academic from first bell, unless they were going to have Ziggler interfere.

Those fans rock
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Instead, let's look for the silver lining. Ryder was chosen to be the opponent, and he was given a lot of offense. Kofi had to sell for him. It was a time for us to bask in the fluorescent tanning bed light of a Z! True Long Island Story come to life on the main show. Could this mean that the WWE is finally seeing the light? That they'll feature him more and get him more opportunities for the crowd to react to him? Maybe even let Scott Stanford be the special color commentator for his matches? Okay, maybe that last one's a bit excessive. Baby steps.

Whether it happens or not, well, at least we'll have last night. It was pretty awesome to see Ryder on RAW, and hey, it's better than having to watch him on the Internet show, right?

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Stop Undermining Titles

Kofi Kingston jobbing to Dolph Ziggler last night was the latest in WWE's offenses against titleholders
Photo Credit: WWE.com

In this past week's episode of Game of Thrones (I'm totally obsessed, I know), Tywin Lannister was having a stern talk with his son, Jaime, about the family legacy and why he was so concerned with things he shouldn't be concerned with. Anyway, the conversation steers towards why Tywin was so concerned about his impish son being held prisoner by another family. I'm paraphrasing here, because I can't find the exact quote anywhere online right now.

Soon, I'll be dead, so will you, so will everyone, but the family name? The legacy? That's what lives on, that's what needs to stay strong.

It's an a propos quote, but what does it have to do with wrestling, since it's clearly not Thursday and I wrote about GoT last week? Well, all you have to do is substitute wrestler names for the Lannisters referenced and "Championship Belts" for family name and you've got something that sticks in my craw. You know from 2+ years of reading The Wrestling Blog that I've always hated when Champions get booked poorly. I even wrote rules for that sort of thing back over a year ago.

Granted, a lot has changed with my outlook on wrestling since then, and I've softened on a lot of my "hardcore smark" points of view. However, one that I didn't go limp on, and one that I'll probably never turn tail on likely, is that Championship belts, and in turn Champions, should be kept strong and should mean something. I've come to understand that the most important thing in pro wrestling is to tell a coherent and entertaining story, wins, losses and the like be damned. However, the Championship belt? Yeah, that is the best storytelling device in all of wrestling. Seriously, they provide easy storylines, ones that can be modified or have devices added to them to enhance them. They also are pretty much the biggest piece of the "sports" side of the proceedings. They're pretty much the thing that preserves kayfabe (even in an era where it's broken repeatedly) and they're the most commonsense thing that binds a wrestler to a wrestling company.

With all that in mind, that's what makes it so maddening that Kofi Kingston drops matches like he's a 1990 Superstars jobber, or when Jack Swagger or anyone else holding the World/WWE Championship loses in a non-title match without all that good a reason other than "that's how we booked it". When a Champion loses a match willy-nilly, then it takes the specialness out of the decision when he finally drops the title. Who cares about the title if the guy holding it loses all the time? Like Tywin said in the paraphrase above, just as the Lannister name is longer-lasting than any person wielding it, the same is true for Championship titles.

Yes, there are wrestlers who are or become bigger than Championships they hold. However, in most cases, the title belt should be something that, because it's bigger and more long-lasting, that can help enhance the guy holding it, and thus enhance the story being told through him and the guy or guys with whom he's feuding. It's not rocket science.

To continue to make Kingston drop matches with the title not on the line or to keep making matches where a guy gets a shot at a Champion by beating him in a non-title match is so short-sighted and it takes a viable story off the table. There are plenty of other ways to build up a title feud without throwing away the long lineage and potential power that a Championship belt brings to the table. WWE Creative, and really, all other wrestling companies too (I've seen this booking run rampant in TNA and creep up in other indie feds like NWA Hollywood), would be wise to be a bit smarter with their booking.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!